GHSF Daily's Four Questions feature historically poses the same questions to a different Georgia head coach each issue. This season, head coaches are being asked Four Questions tailored to current events. Today's interviewee is Hillgrove head coach Phillip Ironside, whose team is 12-0 for the first time after a 23-20 victory over Walton in a second-round game that came down to Luis Garcia-Cano's 31-yard field goal on the final play.
Phillip Ironside, Hillgrove head coach
1. Given that it was a playoff game and won on the last play, how big a win was that for Hillgrove through its history? And were you nervous at the end? "People always ask that question, but it's hard to beat the first year we ever made the playoffs in the big class [in 2010]. We go beat Stephenson when they had 21 D-I players. The next week we beat [defending state champion] Camden County at Camden, which nobody expected. It's just different when you're undefeated. More people expect it. But Walton, knowing how good they are, we shouldn't meet in the second round. They messed up [and didn't win their region and were seeded No. 2] and made it tough on us. Yes, we were excited and elated. It was just good to see our kids persevere through some close games and adversity. I'm so proud of them from that respect. And was I nervous? I wasn't. I'm guessing my offensive coordinator was. He was trying to get us in field goal range, but we had about four minutes to go. We were running the ball well, our running backs are the strength of our team, and I trust our kicker. So I was thinking let's run this clock down to about four seconds and kick it and get out of here."
2. Though you won Region 3-AAAAAAA last season, you were unranked in preseason. Has this team surprised you? "Offensively, we had two tight ends last year go D-I, and we had a wide receiver to sign with Kennesaw State, and had another D-I receiver decide [to focus] on baseball. We lost our quarterback and three starting offensive linemen and the best center we've ever had. I couldn't be overly ambitious that we were going to have an offensive juggernaut. But defensively, I thought we'd be pretty good. We were playing a lot of sophomores who had 92 points put on them at Lowndes [in 2016] when they weren't ready to play. They really matured last year. Our defensive coordinator, coach [Luqman] Salam, has gotten comfortable in his second year. So there wasn't a doubt in my mind that we'd be good on defense. The difference is that we're doing lots of things outside of football as far as developing character and teamwork and that kind of stuff. That's all fine and dandy and won't necessarily win games, but when you have a good group of kids come through that have that unselfishness - kids who love to play for each other and for Hillgrove - that's what has made them special. They don't care if it's your turn to shine or their turn to shine or what position we ask them to play. And we've got some talent, too. I'm not going to kid you. We've got some good kids."
3. You've had some notable NFL players, but you haven't necessarily had a ton of D-I talent over the years. So what's been the key to success over the years? "People like to say we've had four NFL guys, but there was a little spread between the youngest and the oldest of those. They weren't all together. None was a super D-I recruit except Kenyon Drake. They weren't like some of the guys at Walton and Lassiter and McEachern that everybody wanted. The difference for them was work ethic. Lots of kids come through Georgia high schools who can play in the pros. But it's their character and lifestyle and work ethic that gives them the opportunity. They all had the drive and belief and want-to, and they got better in college. I've had people ask, 'What makes a Hillgrove player make it in the NFL?' I've tried to tell them that our kids have to go through adversity. Our kids are coached. They're disciplined. Not that others aren't, but there's accountability here. You have to work and earn what you get. Sometimes kids get awarded and anointed before they deserve it, or if they have to go through tough seasons, they transfer. They don't know the pain of the bench. Our kids just hang in there. And our community and family situations and our academics are great. Our parents allow our coaches to coach their kids. It's a combination of all those things that makes Hillgrove a special place." [Hillgrove is 102-41 under Ironside since he started the program in 2006. The Hawks rank eighth among current Class AAAAAAA schools in victories since 2007, when they played their first full varsity season. Aside from Drake, Hillgrove's NFL players include Bradley Chubb, Brandon Chubb and Evan Engram.]
4. On a lighter side, your look on the sidelines has undergone changes over the years. You've had short and long hair, no beards and long beards. You've worn visors, stocking caps and no hats. You've worn collared shirts, sweat pants, shorts and slacks. You've coached in flip-flips and allegedly gone bare-footed a time or two. How has your style come about? "It's just the way my parents raised me. It's who you are on the inside, not what you wear on the outside. When I was in school, I didn't need to wear the alligator shirts and member jackets. I am who I am. If I didn't have to wear shoes, I wouldn't. You have to wear something when you coach. I wear flip-flops. Now that it's turned cold, I've got shoes on. I'd much rather be barefoot. As for the hair, I used to wear it short just out of being lazy. I could sleep a little later because I didn't have to fix it in the morning. Then I said to my wife, 'I think I'm going to let my hair grow.' She was like, 'I'm good with it.' Once it started getting longer, she liked it. It's been going on two years without a haircut. It's nothing really on purpose. That's just how it is. I'm comfortable with who I am and what I look like. It used to be you wouldn't hire a coach with long hair and a beard and flip-flops. My principals have been great. They take me for who I am."
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